The sky was gray with thunderclouds, and a heavy silence weighed over the city. But that silence was shattered as hurried footsteps echoed on the cobbled path. Li Cheng's heart pounded louder than the coming storm as he marched toward the gates of the Li family mansion, the same gates that had once opened to him as a child, the same home that had cast him and his mother aside like forgotten debris.
His eyes were red, not just from the wind that whipped past, but from the fire that burned within. Rage. Humiliation. A storm that had long been brewing inside him now surged to the surface.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The sharp pounding of his fist against the iron gate rang out like war drums, jarring the quiet street.
"Who dares knock on the Li family's gate so rudely?!" barked a voice from inside.
"Must be someone with a death wish," another guard muttered in annoyance.
Moments later, the gate creaked open. Two middle-aged guards in Li family livery stepped out, irritation plastered across their faces. But the moment they saw who it was, their expressions shifted, first to confusion, then to recognition, and finally to scorn.
"Wait… is that… Li Cheng?" one of them asked with disbelief.
"Yeah, it's him," the other answered, smirking. "The bastard child of the Li family. I almost didn't recognize him. Look at you! All grown up… into a bigger fool than we expected."
The first one shook his head in mock disappointment. "Last time I saw you, you were barely walking. Now you've come back here, knocking on this gate like you belong here?"
The second guard burst into laughter, clutching his side.
Li Cheng's face didn't flinch, but his fists clenched at his side. "Get out of the way," he said coldly. "I want to see Yang Xin."
That wiped the smiles off their faces.
"How dare you call the lady of the house by her name?!" the guard on the right snapped, stepping forward and nearly unsheathing his sword. "Do you want to die right here, you filth?!"
"Easy," the other one said, chuckling darkly. "He's not worth the blood on your blade. We'll let him crawl away like the dog he is."
But Li Cheng had no intention of crawling away. "Yang Xin!" he shouted, pushing past the guards.
They grabbed him at once, and a scuffle broke out. Li Cheng fought with desperation, but against two well-fed and trained guards, he was overpowered. Still, he roared, his voice cutting through the courtyard.
"Yang Xin! Come out! You coward!"
"Let me see your face!" he snarled. "How dare you lay your hands on my mother, you witch!"
From the upper floor of the mansion, a young man stood by a window, fanning himself lazily. He wore a luxurious robe embroidered with silver threads and held an ivory fan adorned with jade.
This was Li Yuen, son of Yang Xin and heir to the Li family, a young master of great wealth, famed looks, and infamous behavior. His reputation across the city was as rotten as week-old fish, but none dared confront him. His crimes were swept under silk carpets, his victims paid off or buried deep.
"Hmm?" he murmured to a passing maid, narrowing his eyes at the noise from the gate. "What's the fuss outside?"
" Young Master," she answered softly. "Someone is making trouble at the gate."
"Oh?" Li Yuen smiled, twirling his fan. "Someone brave or stupid. Let's go and see."
As he descended the front steps and strode toward the gate, the guards had just managed to wrestle Li Cheng to the ground. The left-side guard held him down, panting. "Boy, I'm going easy on you because I knew you as a child. Don't make me regret it."
Suddenly, a new voice broke through the air.
"Li Cheng?"
The two guards stiffened, spinning around. "Young Master!"
They bowed at once to Li Yuen, who walked in with leisurely grace, his fan still moving gently.
Li Cheng glared up, blood trickling from his nose and lip, his eyes burning with fury.
"So," Li Yuen said with a mocking tilt of his head, "this is the bastard I've heard about."
The two brothers had never met face to face. They had only heard whispers of each other , one called a street rat, the other a tyrant dressed in gold. Now they stood within arm's reach, the air between them crackling with hatred.
"Where is Yang Xin?" Li Cheng spat, struggling to his feet. "Tell her to come out. If she doesn't explain why she attacked my mother in the street today, I swear she won't walk away unscathed."
"You dare speak of my mother?" Li Yuen's fan stopped moving. His expression darkened.
"I always knew you were a waste," he said slowly. "But now I see you're not just useless. You're insane."
He turned to the guards, his voice sharp.
"Beat him. To. Death."
The hesitation vanished from the guards' eyes. Replaced with something cruel.
"No!" Li Cheng shouted, swinging a punch but it was blocked. Then came a fist to his gut, another to his jaw. The two men pummeled him without mercy.
He collapsed to the floor, coughing blood, barely conscious. And like a bag of garbage, they tossed him out through the gate. The heavy iron doors slammed shut behind him with a resounding clang.
The sky could no longer hold back its tears.
Rain poured down, cold and merciless, soaking his bloodied body. Thunder rumbled above. People passed by the street, but no one stopped. No one looked. A young man was lying unconscious in the mud but to them, he was nothing.
When word of the incident reached Li Qiang, Li Cheng's father, he merely sipped his tea and turned a page in his book, ignoring the servant who delivered the news.
............
...............
Night fell. The city dimmed. But one carriage still rolled through the rain, its lanterns glowing like fireflies in the mist. A young man sat at the reins, carefully guiding the horses through the storm. He wore a calm expression, though his eyes were alert.
He suddenly stopped the horse.
"Zhao Tian, why did you stop?" a voice called from within the carriage.
The coachman, Zhao Tian, narrowed his eyes at the shape lying ahead on the road.
"Young Master… someone is blocking the way. I believe he's dead."
Inside the carriage, a figure shifted. Moments later, a young man stepped out, an umbrella snapping open above him. His white robe fluttered in the breeze, red ribbons tied neatly at his waist. His features were refined, his posture noble.
This was Wang Yue, heir to the prestigious Wang family, a young man know for both his kindness and uprightness.
"Young master be careful, Zhao Tian warned.
Zhao Tian was wang Yue person guard, If anything happens to him he will surely be in for trouble, so Zhao Tian was vigilant, his hand on the hilt of his sword and ready to spring into action.
Wang Yue walked forward through the rain, ignoring Zhao Tian's warnings, and knelt beside the lifeless figure.
The rain washed blood from the boy's face. His breathing was faint but present.
"Li Cheng…" Wang Yue murmured, recognizing the bruised and broken figure.
He looked up and saw the nameplate on the gate.
"The Li Family Mansion"
His gaze narrowed.
"Zhao Tian," he called over his shoulder, his voice calm but firm, "prepare the carriage. We're taking him with us."
"But Young Master!"
"No arguments," Wang Yue said sharply, eyes locked on the closed gate."
As thunder rolled again, Wang Yue lifted Li Cheng's broken body from the mud, rain cascading around them as he walks towards the carriage with worries written all over his face.